Legislature(2023 - 2024)DAVIS 106
02/01/2024 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB242 | |
| HB260 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 260 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 242 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 260-CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS/MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
3:13:43 PM
CHAIR PRAX announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 260, "An Act repealing programs for catastrophic
illness assistance and medical assistance for chronic and acute
medical conditions."
3:14:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WILL STAPP, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented HB 260, explaining that he believes in
results-based budgeting and efficient operations. This would be
a straight repeal of a program called "Catastrophic and Acute
Medical Assistance" (CAMA), which has a long history in Alaska.
However, since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was adopted and
Alaska expanded Medicaid, there have been no recipients of this
assistance in the two previous years, and prior to that, there
were only two people in the program. Approximately $150,000 is
appropriated for the program, but that doesn't represent the
entire cost of administering the program. He consulted with
management and eligibility technicians at the Division of Public
Assistance (DPA) to see what the legislature could do to help
streamline the application process, and this bill addresses that
issue.
3:18:43 PM
HONOUR MILLER-AUSTIN, Staff, Representative Will Stapp, Alaska
State Legislature, discussed the history of the CAMA program and
its original recipients. She presented the sectional analysis
for HB 260 to the committee [included in the committee packet],
which reads as follows [original punctuation provided]:
1 AS 36.30.850(b)(11) Deletes reference to
Catastrophic Illness Assistance from service providers
2 AS 47.05.085 Deletes reference to Catastrophic
Illness Assistance from evidence in connection with
investigation under the administration
3 AS 47.05.200(d) Deletes Catastrophic Illness
Assistance from obtaining payment from providers
4 AS 47.05.210(a) Deletes reference to Catastrophic
Illness Assistance from medical assistance fraud
5 AS 47.05.240 Deletes reference to Catastrophic
Illness Assistance commissioner excluding applicant
from medical assistance program
6 AS 47.05.290(9) Deletes Catastrophic Illness
Assistance from the definition of "medical assistance
program"
7 AS 47.05.290(10) Deletes Catastrophic Illness
Assistance from the definition of "medical assistance
provider"
8 AS 47.05.290(17) Deletes Catastrophic Illness
Assistance from the definition of "medical assistance
services"
9 AS 47.05.330(a) Amend Modifies reference to
Catastrophic Illness Assistance as "former"
10 (a) AS 47.08.010 47.08.140 Repels all references
to Catastrophic Illness Assistance within statute
10 (b) AS 47.08.150 Repeal reference to Medical
Assistance for Chronic or Acute Medical Conditions
within statute
11 Uncodified Law Add new section Allows the
Department of Health to create an initial case if
fraud is found within previous program of Assistance
for Catastrophic Illness and Chronic or Acute Medical
Conditions
12 Uncodified Law Add new section Allows the
Department of Health to issue subpoenas and further
investigate with necessary records or evidence
3:20:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked Representative Stapp whether he had
considered changing the program to be state referral only in the
event the federal government radically changes health coverage.
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP explained he did not believe there would be
any major changes in Medicaid expansion. The department is
doing Medicaid re-determinations, and when recipients aren't
eligible for Medicaid, they are referred to the health care
marketplace. That type of procedure is already a part of the
process.
3:22:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked about two individuals who were legal
immigrants and who had received CAMA. She questioned why they
had not been referred to the ACA. She suggested that people who
received CAMA might be waiting for the five-year eligibility
period for people who are legal immigrants.
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP responded that people who are legal
residents in the U.S. are eligible for ACA coverage and can
enroll on healthcare.gov. He did not know whether they were
referred by Public Assistance.
3:23:42 PM
DEB ETHERIDGE, Director, Division of Public Assistance,
Department of Health, addressed Representative Mina's question
about the two CAMA recipients. She explained that it is the
practice to refer people to the federal marketplace, but there
may have been a gap during that time.
3:24:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA followed up with a question about the
definition of a catastrophic illness and whether it is a chronic
illness or an emergency situation.
MS. ETHERIDGE responded that there are specific categories and
listed those categories.
3:25:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP referred the committee to the coverages
provided under minimum essential coverages under Medicaid and
pointed out that Medicaid covers far more than the state statute
covered under CAMA.
3:25:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked for clarity regarding Sections 11 and
12 on page 5, lines 6 through 24, of HB 260.
3:26:04 PM
MS. MILLER-AUSTIN explained that those sections would allow the
Department of Health to continue investigating and prosecuting
cases within the CAMA application process for fraud.
3:26:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA questioned how instances of fraud would
occur in a program that has been repealed.
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP replied that he did not think the Joint
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee would audit a program no
one is on, but the provision is in the bill to continue with the
standard and customary practices. He commented that HB 260
would help modernize the processes of the Division of Public
Assistance to ensure that every Alaskan can get their needs met
in the most efficient way possible.
3:28:33 PM
CHAIR PRAX announced that HB 260 was held over.